Abstract
This study describes a massive open online course (MOOC) that was
delivered at the same time in two languages: English and Arabic, providing
innovative contents in nanotechnology and nanosensors to a wide range of
population. Guided by the sociocultural theory, this study was set to compare
between the learning outcomes of the English and Arabic participant, in
terms of: cultural diversity, engagement in the course, and knowledge
construction. The null hypothesis was that no significant difference exists
between the two groups. The exploratory case-study design was employed,
collecting data via pre- and post- knowledge questionnaires and access logs.
Findings indicated differences in cultural diversity between the two groups in
terms of nationality distribution. The English MOOC was more
heterogeneous than the Arabic MOOC. While in the English MOOC, the top
five countries (after the US) were: India, United Kingdom, Spain, Brazil, and
Canada; the Arabic MOOC included participants from: Egypt, Israel,
Germany, Kuwait, and Spain. This may suggest that participants’ native
language (and not country of living) is a major factor in choosing a MOOC.
The examination of the learners' engagement in the two MOOCs indicated
similar engagement pattern but different involvement levels; most
participants, over 70% in the English course and 62% in the Arabic course,
were "passive students". They viewed the video lectures and read forum
posts, but were not actively engaged in the learning process. The difference
between the English and the Arabic MOOCs in their participation curves can
be explained by the fact that our course was the first MOOC presented in the
Arabic language and therefore many Arabic speaking students enrolled to the
course just to see what it is all about. Many of those who enrolled in order to
complete the course lacked the experience of learning from distance. They
participated in the first few weeks (watched the lecture videos, answered the
quizzes and submitted assignments), but as the learning materials became
more complex, high dropout rates were identified.
A similar trend was indicated with regards to learners' achievement in the
post-test. Data showed that the English MOOC learners received higher mean
scores compared to their peers in the Arabic MOOC. This gap suggests that
learners' lack of proficiency in learning from distance had a great influence
on their learning achievements, especially when complicated questions were
presented. We found that the differences between the two groups increased as
the level of content complexity increased.
delivered at the same time in two languages: English and Arabic, providing
innovative contents in nanotechnology and nanosensors to a wide range of
population. Guided by the sociocultural theory, this study was set to compare
between the learning outcomes of the English and Arabic participant, in
terms of: cultural diversity, engagement in the course, and knowledge
construction. The null hypothesis was that no significant difference exists
between the two groups. The exploratory case-study design was employed,
collecting data via pre- and post- knowledge questionnaires and access logs.
Findings indicated differences in cultural diversity between the two groups in
terms of nationality distribution. The English MOOC was more
heterogeneous than the Arabic MOOC. While in the English MOOC, the top
five countries (after the US) were: India, United Kingdom, Spain, Brazil, and
Canada; the Arabic MOOC included participants from: Egypt, Israel,
Germany, Kuwait, and Spain. This may suggest that participants’ native
language (and not country of living) is a major factor in choosing a MOOC.
The examination of the learners' engagement in the two MOOCs indicated
similar engagement pattern but different involvement levels; most
participants, over 70% in the English course and 62% in the Arabic course,
were "passive students". They viewed the video lectures and read forum
posts, but were not actively engaged in the learning process. The difference
between the English and the Arabic MOOCs in their participation curves can
be explained by the fact that our course was the first MOOC presented in the
Arabic language and therefore many Arabic speaking students enrolled to the
course just to see what it is all about. Many of those who enrolled in order to
complete the course lacked the experience of learning from distance. They
participated in the first few weeks (watched the lecture videos, answered the
quizzes and submitted assignments), but as the learning materials became
more complex, high dropout rates were identified.
A similar trend was indicated with regards to learners' achievement in the
post-test. Data showed that the English MOOC learners received higher mean
scores compared to their peers in the Arabic MOOC. This gap suggests that
learners' lack of proficiency in learning from distance had a great influence
on their learning achievements, especially when complicated questions were
presented. We found that the differences between the two groups increased as
the level of content complexity increased.
| Original language | American English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Proceedings of the 11th Chais Conference for Innovation and Learning Technologies |
| Volume | 11 |
| State | Published - 2016 |